Winning a Bet
by the bean25
Summary: DEADLIEST CATCH. When the Harris boys and Jake Anderson make a bet, who will win? And is he gonna fall in love with her? UPDATED JULY 6TH!
1. Chapter 1

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING. THE FEMALE CHARACTER IS MINE, THOUGH.

I watched the three familiar guys from the end of the bar. Jake and Josh Harris from the Cornelia Marie, and Jake Anderson from the Northwestern were regulars at my spot when they were in town. I was sitting with my four girl friends, sipping on a glass of Coke. The older woman behind the bar came over to us and explained that the three deckhands wanted to buy us girls a round of drinks. We all laughed, and I decided I should get back behind the bar. I jumped up onto the bar and then slid off onto the other side. I walked over to the guys.

"So, guys what kind of drinks are you gonna buy us?" I asked, as they all looked at me with a shocked look. Even though, I knew all of them and they knew me from the bar this was the first time they had seen me behind the bar.

"Ladies' choice," Josh Harris replied.

I leaned onto the bar then straightened as a drink came to mind. I flipped eight shot glasses onto the bar and poured alcohol into the glasses. "Who's paying?"

"I got it," Jake Anderson spoke up and pulled out his wallet. His put a twenty on the bar and I picked it up.

"Whiskey? Good choice," my mom said as she slipped past me to give someone else their drinks.

I smiled as I gave a shot to each of the guys then went to the end of the bar to give the rest to the girls. We all took the shots and I slammed my glass on the bar. "Now nobody get sick, ok?"

"I think seasickness cures you of getting sick from alcohol," Jake Anderson spoke up.

I started to wait on other customers. The guys sat at the bar for a few more drinks. I could hear them talking about me and I smiled as I worked. In my mind they were all good guys but Jake Anderson was the only one I could even be remotely interested in.

Josh and Jake Harris got up from the bar at one point, leaving Jake by himself. I went over to him and noticed his empty beer glass.

"You up for another one?" I inquired.

"Yeah."

"Where's Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb?"

He laughed. "Oh, I don't know. I think they went to go talk to some of the other deckhands or something."

"What about you? Are you antisocial?"

He shrugged. "I don't know about that. I just don't have anything to say, I guess."

I gave him a shy smile. "You find things to say to me."

He flashed me a similar smile then was rejoined by the Harris boys. They looked at both of us and I smiled as I walked away. I talked briefly with my friends who were telling me they were leaving. I stood down at that end of the bar for a few minutes, cleaning some glasses. Josh walked over to me. He talked to me briefly and it seemed he was trying to flirt with me. I resisted his efforts, knowing exactly why he was doing it. After much effort he gave up and walked away. I smirked.

"That's the one from the Cornelia Marie, right?" my mom inquired.

"Yeah, he's the older one. I heard them talking about a bet. And I have the advantage because since I know I can make my own decision without being played."

"Wait, what?"

"I've made my decision."

She shook her head. "Ok, Kate, which one?"

"Jake Anderson." I walked away and down to the other end of the bar. I was putting bottles away when I turned around and saw Jake Harris standing in front of me. I laughed inside as he started to talk to me. He was flirting the same way his brother had. Jake was a good three years younger than me, so talking with him was like talking to my younger brother. I began to ignore him and he soon walked away.

An hour later my mom announced that it was closing time and the few patrons that were still lingering in the bar left at once, including the Harris brothers and Jake Anderson. I cleaned up the bar as my mom cleaned down the tables and threw away the bottles and brought the glasses back to the bar. We cleaned the floors, and then when we finished my mom headed upstairs to her apartment and I went out the front door. I locked the door and saw someone sitting on the bench by the front door.

"What are you doing out here it's cold?" I asked him and sat down.

He blew his warm breath into his hands. "It's not too bad. You headed home?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "You wanna walk me?"

He stood up and held his hand out to me. "Yeah, show me the way."

We walked hand-in-hand down the quiet street. "So, when do you guys head out?"

"Tomorrow," he replied.

"Well so much for getting to know one another," I told him.

"We'll be back pretty soon."

We crossed the street and I led him to a door next to the general store. I opened it with a key and we headed up the stairs to my upstairs apartment. When we went inside, we took off our jackets and hung them on the hook. My black lab greeted us at the door and I introduced Jake to him.

"Do you want some coffee or water, or anything?"

"No, I'm good." He started to look around my apartment as I headed to the kitchen to get the dog some food and water. "Is this you, on this fishing boat?"

I came out the living room where he was looking at the photograph above the fireplace. I smiled. "Oh, yeah, that's me and my dad."

"He was a fisherman?"

"Yeah, he was third generation."

"Does he still fish?"

I hung my head. "Uh, no, actually he died a few years ago out at sea. His boat got hit with a big wave and knocked it on its side." I smirked. "He was a hero, though, he got everybody off."

"I bet you miss him, huh?"

"Yeah, my mom is still having a hard time, I can see it, but yeah I'm doin' better." We stared at the photo for another minute. "Hey, I wanna show you something." He followed him down the hallway and into the second bedroom. I opened the door and flipped off the red light and turned on a white light.

"This is a dark room?"

"Yeah, I, uh, like to take pictures. There's one I wanna show you," I walked over to a photo hanging on a line. I unhooked it and handed it to him. "I was just taking photos of the boats in the fleet and I took one of the Northwestern."

He smirked. "You got me in the picture."

I smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty cool."

He looked at me and stared into my eyes. He placed the photo down on the table as he leaned in to kiss me. He planted a soft kiss on my lips and I pushed my lips on his to heighten the passion.

An hour later I was laying next to Jake; a sheet lightly covering both of us. My right hand was lying on his bare chest. He kissed the top of my head. I laughed.

"What?" he inquired.

"I knew about the bet you guys made."

"What bet?"

I lifted my head to look at him. "Come on, I heard you and the Harris boys talking about a bet to see who could get me in bed."

"Wait if you knew and you were ok with it?"

"Well, I don't know if I'd say I was ok with it, but I just twisted it to make it work for me."

"So, you planned this?"

"Yeah, do you think you really had your A-game going tonight? You were actually kind of playing hard to get." He smiled and I smiled back, and then rested my head on his chest.

The next morning I woke up to see Jake sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on his shirt. He already had his jeans on.

"Hey, are you leaving?" I asked him as I sat up.

"Yeah, I told you, we're leaving today." He pulled on his boots and tied the laces. I crawled up behind him and wrapped my arms around him. "You're trying to get me to stay, aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

He kissed the top of my hand. "I gotta go."

I moved around him and kissed him. "It's ok, I understand. You'll be back, though, right?"

"After last night, yeah I'll be back." We both smiled and kissed again. "Will you come out to the dock and see us off?"

"Yeah, I know a spot where I can watch you guys."

He stood up then leaned down to kiss me again. "I'll see ya."

After he left the apartment I got into the shower and dressed. I put the dog on his leash and went down the stairs. There were only a few people on the street, mostly shop owners opening up. I followed the dog, past the bar and toward the docks. Before I was close to the boats I turned down an alley and went to the back of the parking lot behind the bar. I found the old anchor that had been there for years. It was the same anchor I had sat on so many times when I watched my dad leave the port.

The dog sniffed around as I searched for the Northwestern. I could see the crew pulling the ropes off the docks, and getting ready to head out. I saw Sig and Edgar standing outside the wheelhouse. I kept searching for Jake then I saw him standing at the bow. A smiled came across my face.

About ten minutes later the boat started to pass where I was sitting. Jake was looking from side to side to see where I was. Then he saw me and gave me a wave with a smile. I smiled back then blew him a kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

I was standing behind the bar when the door chimed as someone walked in

I was standing behind the bar when the door chimed as someone walked in. It was still early for the usual crowd to be coming in. The man took off his hat and came up to the bar.

"Hi, I'm looking for a certain fisherman and I was told that most likely someone here would know where I could find him," the man explained.

"Who are you looking for?" my mom inquired.

"Jake Anderson," he responded.

My interest was perked and I looked at the man. "He's out on a boat in the middle of the Bering Sea," I told him

"Well, I've been looking for him. I have a letter I was to deliver in person. Do you know when he'll be back?"

"We have no idea; it could be days, maybe a week. You could leave the letter here with me and I could give it to him."

"I don't know if I could trust this with anyone else."

"We're kind of dating, really I'll be sure he gets it."

The guy looked at the envelope and then back at me. "Ok, but I'll be in town for a while, just in case I would be able to see him myself."

Jake threw the buoys in after the pot fell into the water. He heard Sig tell them they were heading into Dutch Harbor to off-load the crab they had caught. All the guys were relieved and were ready for a break. Jake smiled widely as they went inside.

Edgar noticed the smile as they undressed out of their rain gear. "What's that big smile for?"

"Just excited for a break."

"Yeah, so are we but not that excited…wait now I remember you had that same smile on your face when we were leaving. It's that chick at the car, isn't it?"

Jake just continued to smile and then walked away.

The guys all headed inside for something to eat then went to bed for a few hours until they were in port at Dutch Harbor. Jake stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, smiling as he thought of Kate. They only slept for a few hours before Sig woke them up again. They all pulled on some clothes then sucked down some coffee and headed out to the deck.

I was in the bar when the phone rang. My mom talked for a couple minutes then hung up. She looked at me and smiled.

"That was Sally at the processor, the Northwestern's coming in," she told me.

I smiled widely and grabbed my jacket to run out to the dock to watch them come in. I stopped as I was almost to the door and got the letter I had been saving. It was snowing as I ran out to the dock. I stood in my usual spot and saw the white boat coming toward me. As they got closer, I saw Jake standing on the bow. He gave him a small wave, and Edgar standing next to him gave him a look and shook his head. I knew heading to the processor might be a waste of time considering they would be working hard and I would only be a distraction. Against my better judgment I headed to the processor.

When I went inside, I went straight to the office. My mom's best friend, Sally, was sitting at the desk. She shook her head at me as I went to the window.

"Do you think they'll stay a little while?" I asked her.

"I don't know, honey, there's some bad weather coming in, and they'll probably wanna beat it," she responded. I could feel her staring at me as I looked out the window at the boat being unloaded. "Are you just gonna stand there and wait?"

"Yeah, I wanna be here just in case they can stick around. When Sig comes in here, maybe he'll see me and let Jake off the boat for a bit."

"Well, if you're staying, have a seat." She pushed a chair over to me.

A few hours later I was leaning my chin on my hand and still staring out the window. I noticed Sig getting off the boat and walk up the dock to the office. He opened the door and talked to Sally, completely ignoring me. Sally added the total pounds of crab. As she did so, Sig looked at me and smiled.

"You're the girl, right? The one Jake's all head over heels for?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

He chuckled and shook his head. He went back to watching Sally add the numbers. Then he took the totals and headed back outside. I watched him walk back to the boat where I could see the crew cleaning up the deck. I squinted to see who Sig went over to on the deck and realized it was Jake. Then I saw him running up the dock toward the office. I got up and went to the dock.

"Hey," I called out as I met him with a hug.

He kissed me then hugged me again. "I have ten minutes then we gotta go back out."

I kissed him again. "That's better than nothing at all. Oh, hey this guy came into the bar the other day and left this letter for you." I handed him the letter. "He said he'd been looking for you."

Jake ripped open the letter and read the contents. He looked at the letter for a second then looked at me.

"What is it?" I asked him, seeing the distant look on his face.

"Oh, it's nothing. The guy that brought this letter, who was he?"

"He didn't say. He just said he was looking for you then I asked him if I could give you the letter and he said I could, but that he'd still stay in town."

"So, he's still here?"

"Yeah," I could tell whatever was in the letter was bothering him. "What's going on, Jake?" I asked again.

We both turned to look at the boat as we heard the guys yelling for him. "I gotta go. I wish I could stay longer, but we'll be back soon." He kissed me a couple times then ran back down the dock.


	3. Chapter 3

The letter he had gotten from Kate in Dutch Harbor was on his mind for the next few days while they fished

The letter he had gotten from Kate in Dutch Harbor was on his mind for the next few days while they fished. He tried hard not to let it distract him from doing his job. He was kicking himself for not being honest with Kate about what the letter said.

Finally, the guys had filled the tanks on the boat and they were ready to head to a processor. Sig announced that they were heading to another processor not in Dutch Harbor. Jake was disappointed because he had wanted to see Kate so that he could explain how he had left before. After they finished off-loading the crab, Jake asked if he could go off the boat so he could run a quick errand. Sig agreed, needing to get a few things himself. Jake ran off the boat and headed to the post office a few buildings down from the processor. He had written a quick letter to Kate when he knew he wouldn't see her. He explained to the man behind the counter that he didn't know the address, but he knew the general area where to send it. The man told him he would get it there.

I was in my dark room when I heard a knock at the front door of my apartment. The dog was barking and I went to answer the door.

"Hey, mom," I greeted.

"Hey, Baby Girl, what are you doing?"

She followed me back to the dark room. "Working on some pictures. What brings you over here?"

"Oh, the postman came by with this letter for you," she handed the envelope to me. "Did you see who the letter is from? It could be important."

"Yeah, mom, hang on," I yelled from the dark room to the living room. As I came back toward the living room I opened the envelope. "It's from Jake. He apologized for the way he left the last time he was here. He says the letter he got was from a girl in Seattle he had dated for a few years. She told him she had given birth a few months ago to a little girl and she claimed it was his. He says there's no way it is his because when he did the math, they had already been broken up for a couple months when she got pregnant. She tried to say in the letter that they had had a one-night stand one time after that. He says he hadn't seen her since they broke up a year ago."

"Wow."

"Wait, there's more. He apologized again for the way he left and he's asking me to talk to the Private Investigator who brought the letter. There's a plastic bag with a piece of his hair. He wants me to give it to the Private Investigator, so that this girl can run a DNA test to see if he really is the father of her baby." I leaned back on the couch and sighed.

"Is that it?"

"He says that doing this for him would mean the world to him."

"So, what are you gonna do, Kate?"

I sighed heavily. "I don't know, Mom. What would you do?"

"Well, if you're having any problem deciding then most likely you've made your decision."

I lifted my head. "What?"

"Think about it. I can tell this boy has done something to you. I don't know if it's love or that you just like him a lot, but you know you want what's best for him."

"You're right, as always." I watched her go into the kitchen and pour herself a glass of water. "Is that guy staying at the Inn?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be back in a little bit." I jumped up from the couch and grabbed my jacket as I went out the door.

It was a week and a half later when the Northwestern was returning again to Dutch Harbor. They off-loaded their opillio crab to the processor and this time the guys took a few hours to spend some time off the boat. They all wanted some time to call their families and eat a meal off the boat. It was close to six in the evening when they all headed to the bar where Kate worked. Jake was a little worried when he hadn't seen her in the usual spot to see them come into the harbor. He knew she had a friend at the processor who would tell her when they were coming in. He figured she was probably busy at the bar.

He had put on a clean sweatshirt and jeans and even combed his hair before they got off the boat. He followed the other guys to the bar. Edgar looked back at him a couple times as they walked and he shook his head. When they got inside, Jake looked behind the bar for "his girl." He didn't see her. All of the guys sat together at a booth against the wall.

"Jake, you with us," Sig asked him.

Jake snapped away from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah, sorry. What was the question?"

They all laughed at him and shook their heads. "Nothing, Junior."

After the guys finished their meal, Jake decided he couldn't wait any longer to see Kate, so he got up and went to the bar to talk to her mom. He asked her where Kate was and she explained that she wasn't working, and was probably at home. Jake headed back to the table to tell the guys where he was going and promised to be back on the boat in an hour or so.

I was in my apartment rifling through a set of photos I had recently developed. The knock at my door made me jump from the break in the silence. When I opened the door, Jake was standing in front of me with his hand on the door frame. I leaned against the wall inside.

"You're upset?"

"No, Jake, I'm not upset. I think I'm more confused than anything."

He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Can I come in?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Can I just ask what we're doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just what it is that's going on between us."

He straightened up. "I really like you, Kate. But a relationship for us wouldn't be a normal one; I mean I'm gone for at least eight months of the year. So, I'm kind of leaving it up to you. Are you ok with that?"

"So far so good. I mean this is all kind of new to me. But there are a lot of guys who go out there and leave a woman behind, right?"

"Yeah," he paused. "Well, then I guess we're gonna give this a try."

I smiled and pulled him inside by the collar of his shirt. I kissed him. "To add some more good news, you aren't a dad."

He threw his head back. "Yes." He kissed me then pulled away with a smile. "I got an hour." He raised his eyebrows.

I bit my lip and kissed him a few times as we headed back to the bedroom.


End file.
